2.

1:  Cell  Theory  
Topic  2:  Cells  
Miss  Friedman  
 2.1.1:  Outline  cell  theory  
Cell  Theory  
•  All  organisms  are  composed  of  one  or  more  
cells  
•  Cells  are  the  smallest  unit  of  life  
•  All  cells  come  from  pre-­‐exis@ng  cells  
 2.1.2:  Evidence  for  Cell  Theory  
•  This  theory  has  been  great  credibility,  largely  through  the  use  
of  the  microscope  

Robert  Hooke  
•  First  described  cells  in  1665  while  observing  cork  with  a  microscope  he  built  himself  

Antonie  van  Leeuwenhoek  

•  Observed  first  living  cells  and  referred  to  them  as  “animalcules”  

Mathias  Scheiden  
•  In  1838  stated  that  plants  are  made  of  “independent,  separate  beings  called  cells”  

Theodor  Schwann  
•  One  year  later  made  similar  statements  about  animals  

Louis  Pasteur  
•  Showed  living  organisms  would  not  spontaneously  reappear.  Only  aMer  exposure  to  
pre-­‐exisPng  cells  was  life  able  to  re-­‐establish  itself.  
 Unfertilized ostrich
Robert Hooke Drawing made by egg. The largest
Hooke showing single cell in
cells in cork existence.
 2.1.3:  Func@ons  of  life  
•  All  organisms  exist  in  either  a  unicellular  (one  cell)  or  
mul@cellular  (many  cells)  form  
•  All  organisms  carry  out  all  the  func@ons  of  life.  These  
func@ons  are  @ed  together  to  produce  a  func@oning  
living  unit  

FuncPons  of  Life  

–  Metabolism  
–  Growth  
–  ReproducPon  
–  Responses  
–  Homeostasis  
–  NutriPon  
 Possible  Excep@ons  to  Cell  Theory  
1.  Viruses  
•  Considered  alive  because  it  can  reproduce,  however  
cannot  do  it  alone.  It  needs  another  organisms  (the  
host).  

2.    Slime  Mold  
•  Not  always  cell  division  during  life  cycle.  You  can  only  
see  nuclei  floa@ng  around  in  the  membrane.  

3.  Mitochondria  &  Chloroplasts  

•  Have  their  own  gene@c  material  and  reproduce  
independently  from  the  rest  of  the  cell  
 2.1.4:  Comparing  size  
Rela@ve  sizes:  
1.  Molecules  (1nm)  
2.  Cell  membrane  thickness  (10nm)  
3.  Virus  (100nm)  
4.  Bacteria  (1µm)  
5.  Organelles  (less  than  10µm)  
6.  Cells  (less  than  100µm)  
7.  Generally  plant  cells  are  larger  than  animal  cells  
 2.1.5:  Magnifica@on  
 MagnificaPon  =  measured  length  of  the  image  
                 Measured  length  of  the  specimen  

•  Make  sure  all  units  are  the  same  

•  Use  scale  bar  on  image  to  calculate  actual  length  
 2.1.6:  Limi@ng  cell  size  
Why  do  cells  not  grow  to  larger  sizes?  

Answer!  
Surface-­‐area  to  Volume  Ra@o!  

•  Rate  of  heat  and  waste  produc@on  and  rate  of  resource  
consump@on  are  func@ons  that  depend  on  its  volume  
•  Most  chemical  reac@ons  takes  place  inside  the  cell  and  its  
size  affects  the  rate  of  these  reac@ons  
•  The  rate  of  exchange  of  substances  therefore  depends  on  
the  organisms  surface  area  that  is  in  contact  with  the  
surroundings  
•  As  the  organism  gets  bigger,  their  volume  and  surface  area  
both  get  bigger,  but  not  by  the  same  amount  
Conclusion
Large organisms, the rate of exchange of
substances with their surroundings occurs
more slowly
 2.1.7:  Emergent  proper@es  of  mul@cellular  
organisms  
•  Emergence  is  the  occurrence  of  unexpected  
characteris@cs  or  proper@es  in  a  complex  system  
•  These  proper@es  emerge  from  the  interac@on  of  
the  “parts”  of  the  system  

Example  
Would  you  be  able  to  predict  the  behavior  of  water  
from  what  you  know  about  Hydrogen  and  
Oxygen  gas?  
 2.1.8:  Differen@a@on  
•  Mul@cellular  organisms  are  large  and  have  to  
specialize  parts  of  their  structure  to  complete  various  
func@ons  that  are  characteris@c  of  life  
•  This  differen@a@on  process  is  the  result  of  the  
expression  of  specific  genes  but  not  others  
•  These  specific  genes  produce  par@cular  shapes  
func@ons  and  adapta@ons  within  a  cell  
•  In  mul@cellular  organisms,  specializa@on  is  more  
efficient  than  the  generalized  plan  when  compe@ng  
for  a  specific  resource  
 2.1.8:  con@nued  
•  Some  cells  have  a  diminished  ability  to  
reproduce  once  they  become  specialized.  Nerve  
and  muscle  cells  are  examples  of  this.  

•  Other  cells  retain  the  ability  to  rapidly  reproduce  

throughout  their  life.  Examples  of  this  are  
epithelial  (skin)  
 2.1.9:  Stem  Cells  
•  Popula@ons  of  cells  within  organisms  that  
retain  their  ability  to  divide  and  differen@ate  
into  various  cell  types  
•  In  plants,  meristema(c  @ssue  near  the  roots  
have  the  ability  to  become  various  types  of  
@ssue  within  the  root  or  stem  
•  In  the  1980’s  scien@st  found  pluripotent  or  
embryonic  stem  cells  in  mice  
 2.1.10:  Therapeu@c  use  of  stem  cells  
•  Alzheimer's  disease  and  Parkinson’s  are  caused  
by  loss  of  brain  cells  and  it  is  hoped  that  
implanted  stem  cells  could  replace  many  of  
these  lost  brain  cells,  relieving  symptoms  
•  Blood  stem  cells  have  been  rou@nely  introduced  
into  humans  to  replace  the  damaged  bone  
marrow  of  some  leukemia  pa@ents  
TOK Link
A lot of stem cells come from laboratories
performing IVF. To gather these cells involves
death of the embryo.